Collapsible lamp shade



Nov. 3, 1964 5. DERMAN ETAL COLLAPSIBLE LAMP SHADE Filed Feb. 8, 1963 INVENTORS. 519M DER/IAN HHRRY 6RAND HTTORA/EY United States Patent 3,155,349 CGLLAPSIBLE LAMP SHADE Sam Derman, 20 Norwood Road, and Harry Grand,

I 6 Eton'iiace, both of Springfield, NJ.

Filed Feb. 8, 1963, Ser. No. 257,174 4 Ciaims. (G. 240-145) This invention relates to lamp shades used on various types and kinds and sizes of lamps. More particularly, the invention deals with a structure of this type and kind which is endwise collapsible, so as to reduce the size of the lamp and facilitate packaging and shipment thereof, as well as storage in a sales organization or for storage in a home. Still more particularly, the invention deals in a structure of the character defined, wherein the frame of the shade comprises upper and lower rings coupled by a plurality of circumferentially spaced flat springs pivoted to said rings and, wherein, said rings include means operatively engaging the pivot ends of the springs in checking opening movement of the frame and in retaining the frame in open position.

The novel features of the invention will be best understood from the following description, when taken together with the accompanying drawing, in which certain embodiments of the invention are disclosed and, in which, the separate parts are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic side view of a shade illustrating the frame at the left of the drawing and a covering on the frame at the right of the drawing, the positioning of the covering at the left of the drawing being diagrammatically illustrated in dot-dash lines, with the lefthand spring shown by a single line without attempting to illustrate thickness thereof.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic partial plan view of the frame of the shade in collapsed position and diagrammatically illustrating the springs, again, by single lines by virtue of the narrow thickness of the springs.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail view taken substantially on the line 33 of FIG. 1, illustrating the pivotal coupling of the spring ends with the rings, one ring only being shown, and indicating in dotted lines the position of one of the rings in partial collapsing of the frame.

FIG. 4 is a section on the broken line 44 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged section taken on the line 55 of FIG. 2, omitting most of the background showing.

In illustrating one adaptation and use of our invention, we have shown, at least in part in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing, a lamp shade frame, comprising top and bottom annular rings 11 and 11, both of which are generally of the same construction, with the exception that the bottom ring 11 is of larger diameter than the top ring 16, as will appear from a consideration of these figures.

Welded to the lower edge of the top ring are ends of brace rods 12, as diagrammatically illustrated at 12' in FIG. 5 of the drawing, wherein one of the rods is shown. Four of these rods 12 extend radially from a hub portion 13, as commonly employed with shade frames of the type and kind under consideration. The rods 12 extend downwardly and inwardly, as clearly noted in FIG. 1 of the drawing, so that the hub portion 13 is disposed below the ring 10. Pivotally coupled with the top and bottom rings 10 and 11, as diagrammatically illustrated at 14 in FIG. 1 of the drawing and shown more in detail in FIGS. 3 and 4, are a plurality of circumferentially spaced fiat bandlike springs 15 and, as the pivotal couplings of 15 with both rings are the same, the brief description of one of these end couplings is deemed to be sufficient. Each of the springs 15 terminate in pivot ends 16, which lie upon inner surfaces of the rings 11? and 11 and the pivots 14 3,155,349 Patented Nov. 3, 1964 comprise rivets or other fastenings, as clearly seen in FIGS. 3 and 4. Adjacent the ends 16, the springs are inwardly offset, as seen at 17, so as to dispose the major length of the springs or the long parts 18 thereof well within the surface of the fabric covering 19 applied to the frame in the finish thereof and, considering the left side of FIG. 1, this covering is diagrammatically illustrated by the dot-dash line 19' to clearly show the space between the covering, or at least the outer surface of the covering, and the spring 15, as at 20. The advantage of this construction is that direct shadow is substantially eliminated at 19, particularly if the outer surface of the covering, as at 19, should be of highly translucent material.

On each of the rings 10 and 11, adjacent the pivots 14, are formed stops 21 and rounded hold-open beads 22, the latter as applied to the ring 10 being shown in detail in FIGS. 3 and 4. These elements are formed by simply upsetting the metal of the ring, as diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 4 of the drawing. In use of the shade, the stops 21 engage straight sides of 15 to check movement of the frame from the collapsed position of FIG. 2 to the open position of FIG. 1, as well as to prevent accidental collapse of the frame when in open position; whereas, the beads 22 engage opposed straight sides of 15 and operate to retain the frame in the open position against accidental collapsing. In other words, when the frame is in open position, it requires reasonable effort to manually move the two rings 10 and 11 toward each other. This will be clearly apparent when it is realized that, in the beginning of the collapsing operation, as indicated diagrammatically by the dotted line showing of the spring 15 at 15' in FIG. 3, the end 16 has to frictionally and tensionally pass over the bead 22. The spring or the end 16 thereof will be in constant engagement with the bead and, thus, this will operate to maintain the frames in the collapsed position, diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawing and shown in sectional detail in FIG. 5. At this time, it is pointed out that no attempt has been made to show the elements 21 and 22 on the rings 10 and 11 in FIG. 1 of the drawing.

Considering the diagrammatic showing in FIG. 2 of the drawing taken with the detail sectional view of FIG. 5, it will appear that, in the collapsed position, the top ring 10 is brought into close proximity to the bottom ring 11, but this downward movement is checked by engagement of the rods 12 with the springs 15, as will clearly appear from a consideration of FIG. 5, wherein two of the springs are shown in section.

In the present illustration, eight of the springs 15 are employed and, in order to clearly visualize the spring positionings, as shown diagrammatically in FIG. 2, the springs, as shown in part or fully, will be identified as follows. 15a illustrates one complete spring which extends from the pivot end 14a on ring 10 to the pivot 14a on the ring 11. At 15b is shown part of a spring with its single pivot 14b on the ring 11 and it is these two springs that are illustrated in FIG. 5 of the drawing. The other complete spring, which is indicated in FIG. 2 of the drawing, is the spring 150 which extends from the pivot on the ring 10 to the pivot 14c on the ring 11. At 15d is shown a part of another spring and its pivot 14d only on the ring 11. Again, another spring 15e is shown with its pivot He only on the ring 10 and a spring 15 with its pivot 14f only on the ring 10. From the showing in FIG. 2 of the drawing, it is quite apparent that the rings rotate one with respect to the other in moving the frame from the fully opened to the collapsed position and, from the collapsed position, back into the open position. It will be understood that the showing in FIG. 2 is on a scale larger than the showing in FIG. 1 of the drawing.

When the shade, including the frame thereof, is in the collapsed position, the thickness for packaging and storage is materially less than the height of the normal shade when in extended position; thus many packaged shades could occupy a space equivalent to the height of the shade when in extended position. It will be quite apparent, in considering FIG. 5 of the drawing, that the various spring ribs of the shade, when in the collapsed position, extend from the inner surface of the top ring downwardly to the inner surface of the bottom ring 11 and, at these intermediate points, assume a position substantially as shown in FIG. 5, with a and 15b extending downwardly to a slight extent below the lower edge of the bottom ring 11.

It will be apparent from a consideration of FIG. 1 of the drawing that, when the frame is in extended position, the pivot ends 14 are in vertical alinement on the rings; whereas, when the frame is moved into the collapsed position, these pivot ends become widely spaced in a circumferential direction as, for example, the pivot end 14a of the member 15a on ring 10, as compared with the pivot 14a on the ring 11.

Having fully described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A lamp shade frame comprising top and bottom rings, radial means for bracing the top ring, said rings being joined by circumferentially spaced flat spring members, said members having ends pivoted directly to both of said rings, the pivot ends of said members being vertically alined when the frame is in extended position, said pivot ends being widely circumferentially spaced one with respect to the other when the frame is in collapsed position, each ring including means engaging one side of the pivot ends of said spring members in checking movement of the frame into open position, and each ring including other means engaging an opposed side of the pivot ends of the spring members in retaining the frame against accidental collapsing when said frame is in open position.

2. A frame as defined in claim 1, wherein said second named means comprises a stop fashioned from the material of said rings.

3. A frame as defined in claim 1, wherein said last named means comprises a rounded bead fashioned from the material of said rings.

4. A frame as defined in claim 1, wherein said members adjacent ends thereof include inwardly offset portions to dispose the major part of said members in spaced relation to outer coverings of the frame in production of a lamp shade.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,120,449 Vanderveld June 14, 1938 2,732,489 Leech Jan. 24, 1956 2,855,504 McDougall et a1 Oct. 7, 1958 3,023,307 Okamato Feb. 27, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 403,847 Germany Oct. 4, 1924 

1. A LAMP SHADE FRAME COMPRISING TOP AND BOTTOM RINGS, RADIAL MEANS FOR BRACING THE TOP RING, SAID RINGS BEING JOINED BY CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED FLAT SPRING MEMBERS, SAID MEMBERS HAVING ENDS PIVOTED DIRECTLY TO BOTH OF SAID RINGS, THE PIVOT ENDS OF SAID MEMBERS BEING VERTICALLY ALINED WHEN THE FRAME IS IN EXTENDED POSITION, SAID PIVOT ENDS BEING WIDELY CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED ONE WITH RESPECT TO THE OTHER WHEN THE FRAME IS IN COLLAPSED POSITION, EACH RING INCLUDING MEANS ENGAGING ONE SIDE OF THE PIVOT ENDS OF SAID SPRING MEMBERS IN CHECKING MOVEMENT OF THE FRAME INTO OPEN POSITION, AND EACH RING INCLUDING OTHER MEANS ENGAGING AN OPPOSED SIDE OF THE PIVOT ENDS OF THE SPRING MEMBERS IN RETAINING THE FRAME AGAINST ACCIDENTAL COLLAPSING WHEN SAID FRAME IS IN OPEN POSITION. 